THE ELOEAL MAGAZINE 
NEW SERIES.] 
JANUARY, 1874. 
EXHIBITION. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
December 3rd. 
Some interest was attached to this, as it was the last 
meeting of the year and of the old system, by which 
exhibitors have been worried by fortnightly exhibitions 
of very average character. The new Council, with a 
true sense of what is required, will continue the fort- 
nightly committee meetings, but will hold fewer shows. 
At this season of the year a large floral display is not 
to be expected, yet the very beautiful collections of 
Cyclamens staged by some, and the blooms of Japanese 
Chrysanthemums, with their singular and conical forms, 
made an attractive show, relieved by some fine collec- 
tions of Hollies and other Evergreens. 
Cyclamens were exhibited by Messrs. Clarke, Smith, 
James, &c. A first prize was awarded to Mr. Clarke for 
a collection ; and second to Mr. H. B. Smith, of Ealing. 
In this latter collection were some remarkably high- 
coloured flowers ; the foliage, too, was very massive. 
When we remember the exhibitions of former years, we 
are inclined to think that no flower has made a more 
rapid progress than the Persian Cyclamen. For twelve 
plants the first prize was awarded to Mr. Charles Turner, 
Royal Nursery, Slough ; and the second to Mr. Goddard, 
gardener to H. Little, Esq., Cambridge Park, Twicken- 
ham. Amongst the Japanese varieties of Chrysanthemums 
we noticed some remarkably fine blooms of Bronze and 
Red Dragon, Grandiflorum, Magnum Bonum, Oracle, 
the Daimio, Meg Merrilees, Chang, and Fair Maid of 
Guernsey. 
Hollies have ever been a favourite shrub in our Enc- 
lish gardens, and some of those exhibited by Messrs. 
Veitch were of great excellence, especially Waterer's 
Gold-edged Aquifolium, pendulous weeping dark green- 
leaved and full of berries; Silver Queen, Small Silver 
Queen, fructuduteo, yellow berries, Gold Queen, beau- 
tifully coloured, Donningtonensis, dark narrow leaves, 
and aures marginata. 
Mr. Standish exhibited a nice group of trees of the 
Cyprus type, including Thuyiopsis dolobrata, and the 
variegated form of it; Cupressus Lawsoniana, erecta, 
virulis; Retinospora filiformis, Retinospora plumosa, and 
Taxus adpressa stricta. While mentioning this part of 
the Exhibition, we cannot refrain from noticing the fine 
collection of Conifers contributed by Messrs. Veitch and 
[No. 25. 
Sons. Amongst them were Juniperus drupacea, Thuya 
Vervaeana, Retinospora plumosa, Cryptomeria elegans ; 
several Retinosporas, such as obtusa, nana, aurea, filifera, 
Lycopodioides, dark-green, filicioides, Thuyiopsis dolo- 
brata, &c. The beautiful and fragrant little Roman 
Hyacinth was exhibited by Mr. Farrow, Messrs. 
Standish, and others. Messrs. Standish also exhibited a 
nice collection of Bonvardias and Lilies of the Valley. 
THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE ROYAL 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
There has been quite a ferment in the horticultural 
world lately on account of the approaching election of 
Council, and in consequence of a most injudicious attempt 
to create a feeling of odium against the present Council. 
A circular has been issued signed by some gentlemen 
of influence ; and to our minds it is a marvel how any 
person can have added their signature to so illogical a 
production. The main point may be a correct one, i.e., it 
may be very desirable that the connexion between the 
Commissioners at South Kensington and the Society 
should cease ; but why a Council which has done certainly 
its utmost to consult the wishes of horticulturists, and 
which has issued a schedule more in accordance with 
those wishes than any that have preceded it, should be 
attacked as illegal, and by implication saddled with the 
disorders and evils of the present state of things, is to us 
inexplicable; and some indeed of those who signed 
have since repudiated it, but there their names remain. 
Several of them have been exhibitors during the past 
year. Will they consider the Council sufficiently illegal 
as to doubt its power of allocating the subscribers' 
money in the payment of their prizes? We think not. 
There is a great deal of loud talking as to the sup- 
port the horticultural world will give to a new state of 
things, and of the prosperity of the Society under a 
new regime ; but it is a fact that horticulture, pure and 
simple, never has been able to maintain the Society, and 
we believe never will. Look at its former condition, 
when it was purely such — was it prosperous then? 
Look at the Royal Botanic Society — is it flourishing ? 
Or the Manchester Society? Indeed we hardly know of 
one which is in a really sound condition ; and although, 
it is the habit to abuse the Kensingtonians, yet we are 
quite persuaded, were the Society to cast off all their 
purely local members it could never hold together. How 
